After it was over, and Nebraska Omaha coach Dean Blais’ record in WCHA play stood at 1-0-0, he was asked what it was like to be back coaching in the league where he once did so well at North Dakota.
“I don’t remember a lot of four-goal leads,” Blais said with a grin. Smiles were plentiful outside the Mavs locker room, after a 5-4 win at Minnesota that featured plenty of opening-game drama.
“Just another dull game,” Minnesota coach Don Lucia quipped, after his team had fallen behind 4-0, rallied for a 4-4 tie, then lost on a defensive mistake in the final minutes. “It was the ugly, the good, the bad. We’ll rearrange that a little bit.”
The next day, the Mavericks completed the sweep with a 4-2 win, and they head to Michigan this weekend secure in the knowledge that they fit right into the WCHA mix, and not just geographically. The two wins at Minnesota were called an upset by many, but in truth the Mavericks were more physically dominant throughout (even on Mariucci Arena’s ocean-size ice sheet) and often out-worked the home time. This is a series where many felt the visitors would be awestruck by their surroundings.
“Guys wanted to get a feel for the emotion,” said Mavericks forward Alex Hudson, who scored Friday’s game-winner. “We’ve all heard great stories about the WCHA and it lived up to the hype. It was amazing to be out there.”
One could sense that it was as emotional for the guys behind the bench as it was for those heading out onto the ice at regular intervals. Not only is Blais a former Gopher (and rumored by many to be the program’s next coach) but his assistants, Mike Guentzel and Mike Hastings, both know the Minnesota program and rink from the inside.
“All of us have a lot of connections, so it was a good win,” Blais said. “Especially for Guentzel who’s been here for 14 years and (Hastings) who was here the one year to get some college experience.”
As emotional as it may have been for the Mavericks, a lack of emotion and urgency doomed the Gophers, at least at the start.
“It’s their first WCHA game and they wanted to come out and prove they belong in this league. The problem is, we weren’t ready for it,” said Gophers senior forward Jacob Cepis, who helped get his team back in the game in the second, when UNO’s Michael Young got a five-minute major and was tossed for making contact with Cepis’ head during a check. “We all knew they’re a well-coached team and they’ve got good players. They’re the biggest team in college hockey, so just because they’ve been in a different league doesn’t matter.”
The Gophers got two power-play goals to get back in the game. But a win was not to be forthcoming. Asked about differences in the way WCHA games are called versus what he experienced in the CCHA, Blais chose his words carefully.
“I thought the referee’s whistle was going to wear out there. But they were good calls,” Blais said. Asked if thought all of them were good calls, the coach just grinned. “I’m not going to say any more. My baptism into the league has been, ‘Keep your mouth shut, Blais.’”
So while the league’s other newcomer, Bemidji State, took its lumps in its first WCHA series, losing twice to North Dakota at the Beavers’ new rink, UNO took a solid step toward immediate contention. For some, that wasn’t as surprising as it seemed.
“UNO is a good team,” Lucia said. “Their top two lines are very competitive and they’re good around the net. They’ve got some veterans who have been through it before, and whether you’re in the CCHA or WCHA it doesn’t really matter. They take advantage of some mistakes and force some mistakes, and that’s what good teams do.”
A New Lodge For The Beavers
The biggest news on the shore of Lake Bemidji in some time happened last weekend, when Bemidji State opened the new Bemidji Regional Events Center (known by the locals as “the BREC”) with its first-ever WCHA series. While the Beavers are still looking for their first win there (North Dakota won 5-2 in both games of the series) they did give the sellout crowd of 4,373 a big reason to cheer less than two minutes into the first game. BSU forward Jamie MacQueen scored the first goal in BREC history, with an assist from senior wing Ryan Cramer. It was just the most recent milestone for Cramer, who scored the Beavers’ final goal in John S. Glas Fieldhouse last Feb. 20, in a 6-1 win over Niagara.
Hot, Hot Huskies
One of the more surprising stories to come out of college hockey in the first two weeks has been the red-hot start by Michigan Tech. The Huskies, at 3-0-2, are riding the nation’s longest unbeaten streak and are off to their best start since the 1972-73 season, when John
MacInnes’ team started off 8-0-0 en route to finishing 11 games over .500. The Huskies are off this weekend and one suspects we’ll find out much more about how solid they are in the coming weeks, with trips to Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth up next on their schedule.
Nice Debuts For The Tigers
Colorado College freshman forward Jaden Schwartz has been as good as advertised, with four points in four games to lead the Tigers offensively so far. But another CC rookie served notice that there may be a goalie tandem in the works in Colorado Springs. While now-sophomore Joe Howe carried most of the goaltending load last season, he may have help this season, as freshman Josh Thorimbert had 16 saves in his collegiate debut, helping the Tigers beat Alaska Anchorage 4-3 in a non-conference game in Fairbanks.
“He made some big saves to keep us in the game,” Tigers forward Andrew Hamburg told the Colorado Springs Gazette afterward. “Even though this was non-conference, it was important to send a message against these guys.”
After Howe and the Tigers hit a wall last January, and dropped out of the race for home ice as a result, giving their top goaltender a night off now and then may lead to a better mid-winter for CC this time.
Pitching In To Help A Friend
While the Minnesota Duluth hockey team keeps lighting up the scoreboard, folks around the WCHA are working to light up the life of one Bulldog. UMD equipment manager Chris Garner was diagnosed with myelodysplatic syndrome, or MDS, which is also known as pre-leukemia. Garner is currently battling the affliction at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and friends in Duluth and at St. Cloud State (where Garner formerly worked) have banded together to raise money for Garner’s fight.
An on-line auction featuring dozens of great hockey items is coming up, and people wishing to purchase some great memorabilia for a great cause can see www.wcha.com/men/presarch/201010/oct18gar.php for more details.
